CONSULTING

McKnight Associates offers consulting on a wide variety of industry topics. The following can be addressed in a utility setting, conference breakout, or employee/staff meetings:

ANNUAL MEETINGS:  Eddie McKnight, for 34 years, managed the biggest electric cooperative annual meeting in the country, with nearly 10,000 registered members, and a total crowd of 30,000 to 40,000.  What should you use for a registration gift, grand prize, entertainment, or does any of that matter?  How do YOU manage voting and registration, food, displays, health fair, and much more?  Or is voting by mail or online enough to satisfy your by-law requirements?  What’s best for you?

COMMUNITY RELATIONS/MEMBER ENGAGEMENT:  Do good relations or engagement with your consumers mean joining a civic club, sponsoring a festival, or teaching employees to smile?  Learn about all kinds of tips and tricks (and more serious things) that you can do to increase satisfaction scores and best serve the communities in your area.  Includes information on forming consumer advisory groups.

YOUR BRAND – WHAT IS IT TO YOUR CONSUMERS AND TO THE COMMUNITY?   Your brand matters, but what is it actually?  Is it your national association, or your local image, or both and more?  Delve into all the forces behind the perceptions that make up your brand. 

MARKETING:  Do you have a marketing manager?  Do you have a marketing plan?  Do you need one?  Or is marketing just another hat that someone wears at your utility.  There is no exact answer to these questions.  We can explore your goals, programs, and successes to help determine what your needs are, and how to be sure you are getting the most out of your marketing efforts.

LOAD MANAGEMENT/DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT:  Are you saving lots of wholesale power cost operating these programs?  Do you tell your consumers about it?  Are you getting good PR in the community about a very valuable program?  Can you justify LM and DSM programs on a spread sheet.  Hopefully, all your answers are yes.  If not, let’s work to make it better.

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS/HANDLING REPORTERS:  Hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, contested board elections, consumers complaining to local media, travel expenses exposed – ever had to talk to a reporter about any of these?  Sure, everyone does.  There are specific ways to handle reporters’ questions, and you should set the ground rules - or provide the info before they ask.

SWOT ANALYSIS:  A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a self analysis/strategic planning tool that helps a business identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as any opportunities and threats that may exist in the business or community. A SWOT analysis is most commonly used as part of a strategic plan, but it is also a good tool for general business strategizing, and to use as a starting point for team discussions. When conducted thoroughly, a SWOT analysis can uncover a wealth of information, and can be useful in a number of situations.  We can walk you through the analysis, and then have a discussion about what it all means.